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$1.7 Million Awarded To Family Of Factory Worker Killed At Plant

January 29, 1999|By Jeff Coen.

NAPERVILLE — Survivors of a Carol Stream factory worker killed on the job in Naperville in 1993 have been awarded $1.7 million in Cook County Circuit Court, attorneys for the family of John P. Kim said late Thursday.

Kim died in an industrial accident at the Kraft Foods plant at 1555 W. Ogden Ave. His family's attorneys had argued that the moving parts on the packaging machine that killed Kim were not properly guarded, faulting manufacturer Alvey Inc. of St. Louis.

Kim, 44, had worked as an equipment operator for 15 years before his death, lawyers said. He was killed when the machine he was working on was mistakenly started by another employee.

Attorneys for Kim's family said they called 23 witnesses during the weeklong trial. Kim is survived by a wife and three daughters.

With an original award of $2.2 million, the damages were reduced to reflect some fault the jury in the case placed on Kim, attorneys said.